He left home at the age of 14 and worked on a sugar plantation outside Clarendon, cleaning out irrigation ditches, before winning a local talent competition when he was 18; prompting a move to the capital, Kingston, in order to achieve a successful musical career.
In 1965 he joined up with Kenneth Knight and Lloyd Shakespeare in The Emotions, whilst also working as a record plugger for Ken Lack's Caltone label. The group were unsuccessful in auditions for other producers, but Lack offered them an audition after overhearing Smith singing to himself as he worked one day. In 1966, the group had their first hit, with the Lack-produced, "Buy You a Rainbow". The Emotions went on to have several hit singles and by 1968, the singer, by this point known as Max Romeo, felt confident enough to launch a solo career. Working with producer Bunny Lee, the young star recorded a number of pop songs, mainly love ballads, but they failed to be popular and so he returned to The Emotions, now recording for Phil Pratt. During this time he began work as a sales representative for Bunny Lee and did some recording with The Hippy Boys, which would later became The Upsetters.
Later on in 1968, Romeo wrote new lyrics for the rhythm track of Derrick Morgan's "Hold You Jack" and handed them over to Lee. Morgan, who was due to add his vocals to the track, ultimately gave it a miss, as did several other vocalists (including John Holt and Slim Smith), leading the producer to turn to Romeo to sing the lyrics he had written. The result, "Wet Dream", was an instant hit in Jamaica, although in the UK it was met with a BBC Radio ban, despite Romeo's somewhat-disingenuous claim that the song was actually about a roof that has a leak. Still, the ban only made it more popular and the single charted in the Top Ten, in the UK Singles Chart, spending almost six months therein, before featuring on his LP, A Dream, which included several follow-up singles in a similar vein, such as "Mini Skirt Version", "Fish in the Pot", "Belly Woman", and "Wine Her Goosie". A UK tour also met with Romeo being banned from performing at several venues, although many allowed him to play, the singer staying in the UK for eighteen months.
In 1970, Romeo returned to Jamaica and set-up Romax, an unsuccessful record label and sound system. Following which, he recorded several singles, mainly with old producer Bunny Lee, before going on to work a host of other producers including Niney Holness. This was followed by a period of which saw the release of a series of politically charged singles, most advocating the democratic socialist People's National Party (PNP), which chose his song, "Let The Power Fall On I", as their campaign theme for the 1972 Jamaican general election. Romeo joined the PNP Musical Bandwagon, travelling around Jamaica, playing on the back of a truck. After this, Romeo recorded a number of religious songs, until he worked with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, producing the classic singles "Three Blind Mice" (an adaptation of the nursery rhyme with lyrics about a police raid on a party), "Sipple Out Deh", and "Chase the Devil". A remixed version of "Sipple Out Deh", entitled "War Ina Babylon", was another popular track in the UK, the first fruits of his deal with Island Records, and was followed by an album of the same name, and a follow-up single "One Step Forward". Shortly after this the pair fell out, leaving Romeo to self-produce his follow-up album, Reconstruction, which could not match the success of its predecessor. Perry's animosity towards Romeo was demonstrated by his single "White Belly Rat", with Perry also writing the word 'Judas' over a photograph of Romeo on the wall of his Black Ark studio.
He moved to New York City in 1978, where he co-wrote (with Hair producer Michael Butler) the musical, Reggae, which he also starred in. In 1980 he appeared as a backing vocalist on "Dance" on The Rolling Stones album Emotional Rescue. In 1981, the favour was returned when Keith Richards (of The Rolling Stones) co-produced and played on Romeo's album, Holding Out My Love to You. The rest of his output during the decade went practically unnoticed, with Romeo finding work at a New York electronics store. He returned to Jamaica in 1990, and began touring and recording more regularly.
He visited the UK again in 1992, recording the albums Far I Captain of My Ship and Our Rights with Jah Shaka. In 1995 he recorded Cross of the Gun with Tappa Zukie, and he joined up with UK rhythm section/production team Mafia & Fluxy in 1999 for the album Selassie I Forever.
His music has been sampled by other artists; The Prodigy sampled his track "Chase the Devil" for their 1992 UK Top Ten hit "Out of Space". Kanye West has also used samples from it to produce Jay-Z's hit song "Lucifer", which appeared on Jay-Z's 2003 release - The Black Album.
"Chase the Devil" is featured on the reggae radio station K-JAH Radio West in a popular videogame Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, released in October 2004. Romeo's single "Sipple Out Deh" appeared in John Peel's Record Box.
- Albums:
A Dream (1970) Trojan
Let The Power Fall (1972) Dynamic
Revelation Time (1975) Black World
War Ina Babylon (1976) Island
Reconstruction (1979) Island
I Love My Music (1979) Wackies
Rondos (1980) King Kong
Holding Out My Love to You (1981) Shanachie
Transition (1989) Rohit
Fari - Captain of My Ship (1992) Jah Shaka
Our Rights (1992) Jah Shaka
Cross or the Gun (1995) Tappa Zukie
Selassie I Forever (1999) Mafia & Fluxy
Love Message (1999) Warriors
Something is Wrong (1999) Warriors
In This Time (2001) 3D (Max Romeo & Tribu Acustica)
Pocomania Songs (2007) Ariwa Sounds
- Compilations:
Max Romeo Meets Owen Gray At King Tubby's Studio (1984) Culture Press (with Owen Gray)
Max Romeo and the Upsetters (1989)
Wet Dream (1993) Crocodisc
McCabee Version (1995) Sonic Sounds
Open The Iron Gate (1999) Blood & Fire
The Many Moods of Max Romeo (1999) Jamaican Gold
Pray For Me: The Best of Max Romeo 1967-73 (2000) Trojan Records
Perilous Times (2000) Charmax
On The Beach (2001) Culture Press
The Coming of Jah (2002) Trojan
Ultimate Collection (2003) (compiled by David Katz)
Holy Zion (2003) Burning Bush
Wet Dream: The Best of Max Romeo (2004) Trojan
Crazy World of Dub (2005) Jamaican Recordings
One of Jamaica's most provocative lyricists, a singer who gave us such enduring songs as 'Chase The Devil' (which was sampled in the song 'Out of Space' by The Prodigy and the song 'Lucifer' by Jay-Z), 'Public Enemy Number One', 'One Step Forward' and 'Three Blind Mice'. It was Romeo who first introduced Britain to the concept of rude reggae with 'Wet Dream', which, despite a total radio ban, reached number 10 in the UK charts in May 1969.
In 1972 Romeo began working with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. 'Babylon Burning', 'Three Blind Mice' and 'The Coming Of Jah' all maintained his star status in Jamaica between 1972 and 1975. Revelation Time was one of the best albums of 1975, and 1976's War Ina Babylon was hailed by the rock press as an all-time classic reggae album. Two outstanding contributions that will remain classic recordings from the so-called ‘golden age’ of Jamaican reggae music.
Hotel California
Max Romeo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
I heard the mission bell
I was thinking to myself
"This could be Heaven and this could be Hell!"
Then she lit up a candle
And she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
Thought I heard them say
"Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year
(any time of year)
You can find her here!"
Her mind is Tiffany twisted
She got the Mercedes Benz, uh
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
She calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget
So I called up the captain
"Please bring me my wine!"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969!"
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say
"Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They're living it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise
(what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis."
Mirrors on the ceiling
And pink champagne on ice
And she said
"We are all just prisoners here of our own device."
And in the master's chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
"Relax," said the night man
"We are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave!"
The lyrics to Max Romeo's song "Hotel California" depict a journey through the desert that ends up in a luxurious hotel with a sinister undertone. The singer is lured in by the warm smell of colitas and the shimmering light of the hotel in the distance, but soon realizes that he may be trapped in a prison of his own making. He meets a woman with a twisted mind and a lot of pretty boys, but he can't escape the voices that call to him from the corridor, urging him to stay in this lovely place. The mirrors on the ceiling and the pink champagne on ice are just illusions that distract him from the fact that he is trapped in a place where everyone is a prisoner of their own device. Even the attempt to leave is thwarted by the night man, who tells him that he can check out anytime he likes, but he can never leave.
Line by Line Meaning
On a dark desert highway
The singer is in a lonely and deserted place.
Cool wind in my hair
The breeze is blowing through the singer's hair.
Warm smell of colitas
The air is smelling of a kind of desert flower.
Rising up through the air
The scent is filling the entire atmosphere.
Up ahead in the distance
The singer sees a light shimmering from afar.
I saw a shimmering light
The singer sees a light flickering in the far distance.
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
The singer felt uncomfortable and dizzy.
I had to stop for the night
The singer stops to take rest for the night.
There she stood in the doorway
The singer sees a woman standing at the entrance of the hotel.
I heard the mission bell
The singer hears a church bell.
I was thinking to myself
The singer was talking to himself.
This could be Heaven and this could be Hell!
The singer is confused to whether the woman and the hotel was good or bad.
Then she lit up a candle
The woman lit a candle.
And she showed me the way
The woman guided the singer inside the hotel.
There were voices down the corridor
The singer heard voices from the halls.
Thought I heard them say
The singer thinks he heard them say.
Welcome to the Hotel California
The singer is welcomed to a hotel named California.
Such a lovely place(such a lovely place)
The place is really beautiful.
Such a lovely face
The woman has a beautiful face.
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
There is enough space to accommodate many guests in the hotel.
Any time of year(any time of year)
Guests can arrive anytime they want throughout the year.
You can find her here!
People can meet the woman in the hotel.
Her mind is Tiffany twisted
The woman's mind is crooked like a valuable Tiffany jewellery.
She got the Mercedes Benz, uh
The woman owns a Mercedes Benz car.
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
The woman has a lot of handsome men around her.
She calls friends
She is friendly with the handsome men around her.
How they dance in the courtyard
The handsome men are dancing in the garden.
Sweet summer sweat
It is the summer season and people are sweating from dancing.
Some dance to remember
Some people are dancing to remember something special.
Some dance to forget
Others are dancing to forget their past memories.
So I called up the captain
The singer calls for the hotel captain.
Please bring me my wine!
The singer requests the captain to bring his wine.
He said, We haven't had that spirit here since 1969!
The captain tells the singer that they do not have what he wants since a long time ago.
And still those voices are calling from far away
The voices that the singer heard earlier are still calling from far away.
Wake you up in the middle of the night
The voices may sometimes wake up people in the middle of the night.
Just to hear them say
The voices are saying something that is heard by the people.
They're living it up at the Hotel California
The people in the hotel are enjoying themselves.
What a nice surprise(what a nice surprise)
The revelation about the place is a pleasant surprise.
Bring your alibis.
People should bring an excuse or explanation for their absence or fault.
Mirrors on the ceiling
There are mirrors installed on the ceiling of the hotel.
And pink champagne on ice
Pink coloured champagne drinks are kept cool in ice.
And she said
The woman speaks.
We are all just prisoners here of our own device.
Everyone in the hotel is trapped by their own desires.
And in the master's chambers
People inside the hotel's master room.
They gathered for the feast
People were gathering for a feast or party inside the master's room.
They stab it with their steely knives
People are attacking something or someone with their sharp knives.
But they just can't kill the beast
Despite the attacked person or thing being wounded, they will not die.
Last thing I remember
The last thing the singer remembers.
I was running for the door
The singer is running towards the door to escape.
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
The singer needs to find his way back to the place he was earlier.
Relax, said the night man
The night man calms down the singer.
We are programmed to receive
The hotel staff are trained to welcome guests.
You can check out any time you like
Guests can leave the hotel when they feel like.
But you can never leave!
The hotel is so bad that people can never forget the experience even if they leave the property.
Contributed by Muhammad L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.